Overview
- In her first testimony since the Minneapolis shootings, Kristi Noem declined to apologize or withdraw statements suggesting Renee Good and Alex Pretti were engaged in domestic terrorism, saying she relied on reports from agents at a chaotic scene.
- Republican Sen. Thom Tillis labeled her tenure a “disaster,” urged her resignation, and threatened procedural retaliation unless DHS answers his inquiries, while Sen. John Kennedy questioned a roughly $220 million ad campaign featuring Noem and probed its contracting.
- The department remains unfunded as Senate Democrats press about 10 reforms before agreeing to a stopgap, including requiring body cameras for immigration officers and tighter limits on certain tactics.
- Pressed on elections, Noem said there are no plans to deploy ICE or CBP to polling places but repeatedly declined to categorically rule it out.
- Noem said about 650 federal investigators remain in Minnesota for fraud probes after a drawdown, and she is scheduled to testify next before the House Judiciary Committee.